Explanations often turn out to be dry and uninspiring. We fail to engage our readers, and that’s when we fail to communicate our ideas, too.

So, what can you do to explain with clarity and zing?

The Zoom-In-Zoom-Out technique

You know it from photography, don’t you?

Zoom out, and you display the big picture. Zoom in, and you show details.

Writing works the same.

The best writing combines satellite-style zooming out with telephoto-like zooming in.

When zooming in, you see the mother lion licking her young; you see the bee gathering honey from a clover; you see the withering petals of a tulip. You see one specific situation—one flower, one person or one animal doing one specific thing.

Satellite photography is the complete opposite. Instead of tiny details, you see patterns. You see the colorful fields with millions of tulips in the Netherlands. You see how the green countryside has turned brown after weeks of heatwave. You see sprawling suburbs surrounding the skyscrapers in downtown Houston.

When you zoom in, you might see one person at the top floor of that skyscraper flossing their teeth. But in your satellite picture, that one person becomes as small as just one pixel—you can’t see her.

In photography, you have all sorts of lenses and you create pictures with different levels of zoom. But in writing, you alternate mostly between the extremes:

Captivate readers by using the telephoto lens—tell the story of one person in one specific situation

Describe the satellite image to explain the wider picture, the trends, the lessons, the statistics

As much as possible, skip the half-zoomed scenes

The Zoom-In-Zoom-Out technique helps you explain anything to anyone; it helps you captivate readers, even with the most boring topics.

Shall I show you?

How the masters of explanation use this technique

Chip and Dan Heath apply the zoom-in-zoom-out technique in all their books to educate business readers.

Below follows an example from their book “The Power of Moments.” The story shows how important praise is, and it starts when a student, called Sloop, has been told to mouth words because her voice doesn’t blend with the rest of the choir. Then another teacher asks her to stay after practice:

Sloop was hesitant at first but eventually lowered her guard. She said, “We sang scale after scale, song after song, harmonizing and improving, until we were hoarse.”

Then the teacher took Sloop’s face in her hands and looked her in the eyes and said: “You have a distinctive, expressive, and beautiful voice. You could have been the love child of Bobh Dylan and Joan Baez.”

As she left the room that day, she felt as if she’d shed a ton of weight. “I was on top of the world,” she said. Then she went to the library to find out who Joan Baez was.

Sensory details—the singing of scale after scale and becoming hoarse; and how the teacher took her face in her hands—make this scene come alive. The authors have truly zoomed in. As readers, we can picture the scene.

And once a story has captured readers, the authors zoom out to share the big picture:

The importance of recognition to employees in inarguable. But here’s the problem: While recognition is a universal expectation, it’s not a universal practice.

(…) “More than 80 per cent of supervisors claim they frequently express appreciation to their subordinates, while less than 20 per cent of the employees report that their supervisors express appreciation more than occasionally.” Call it the recognition gap.

Facts give stories substance. Stories give facts meaning. Substance and meaning are two of the most powerful factors in any explanation.

~ Lee LeFever (From: The Art of Explanation)

Another example of the zoom-in-zoom-out technique

“The Year of Magical Thinking” is a memoir by Joan Didion, in which she describes her journey of grieving for her husband.

But she doesn’t tell only her own story, she also comments on theories around loss and grieving. For instance:

From Bereavement: Reactions, Consequences, and Care, compiled in 1984 by the National Academy of Sciences’ Institute of Medicine, I learned for example that the most frequent immediate responses to death were shock, numbness, and a sense of disbelief: “Subjectively, survivors may feel like they are wrapped in a cocoon or blanket; to others, they may look as though they are holding up well. Because the reality of death has not yet penetrated awareness, survivors can appear to be quite accepting of the loss.”

The statement above about bereavement is abstract, and Didion paints a clear picture with the details of her own grieving process:

I could not give away the rest of his shoes. I stood there for a moment, then realized why: he would need shoes if he was to return.

As a blogger, sharing your personal experiences helps you bond with your readers. It turns you into a real human being rather than an abstract writer.

And when you connect your own experience to the wider picture, you establish your authority, too. You help readers see how your lessons apply to themselves.

How to explain better

Readers respond to vivid imagery, because it helps them imagine and experience your story.

So, whenever you want to share an abstract lesson or explain a trend, share a specific story and use vivid details to captivate and inspire readers.

You can use this technique for any type of writing:

In a case study, explain the key benefits of your service by relating how it worked for one specific client

In a blog post, teach a lesson by giving a specific example

In journalism, weave sociological trends with the stories of how it affects specific families

In a memoir, tell your personal story and relate it to a bigger lesson

In a historical novel, tell the story of your protagonist to open a doorway to a historical era

?? Zoom in, zoom out is such a masterful metaphor for this, Henneke! Once I’d read the article, I realised it encapsulates everything from your post in a single, memorable phrase. That alone is such a great technique because as a reader I can remember and apply your advice so easily.

I love the intimate zoomed-in moments in people’s writing. But sometimes I get to the end of a post and realise I’ve been engaged all the way through, but haven’t got the overall idea of what they were wanting to say/teach.

That’s where the Zoom-Out is so essential. And now i have the words to describe it when I see it/ use it or miss it.

Thank you. I’ll definitely be applying this tip to my writing in future.

I love the intimate zoomed-in moments, too. They make writing worth reading, even if I know “the lesson” already. This is especially true for me when people share personal experiences because those are the stories only they can tell.

Thank you for your posts Henneke, I am now an avid follower. The thing about your writings is that it gears one to make a conscious effort to make writing beautiful, not to leave it to chance or to experiments upon experiments.

The things we know, sit at the back of our minds, but you bring them to fore and guide us in using those tools effectively. Thank you.

Hi Henneke, its time for you to sell the collection of your articles, by theme or the kind of writing advise. you decide. Volume One and Two are already ready – and at the end of each year one more book. I can see translations in many languages. I’m always learning from you. Thank you

Good idea! Someone mentioned that same idea a few years ago, but I couldn’t get my head around it at that time. Maybe now the time is right as it’s easier to collect a series of blog posts around different themes. I’ll look into it.

Thank you so much! Within seconds of digesting this zoom in-zoom out approach, I was able to write an opening line to ‘sell’ a new family centered event. Five minutes later, I had a jingle-like poem to set the mood for the activity. I focused in on the action steps a single kid would complete while participating and presto! things just fell into place. Taking the why it’s important, educational stuff out of the picture–at first–was the solution. Thank you, Henneke!

Thank you for sharing this. Here is what I gleaned from this post in my own words:

My readers definitely want to know if the ideas that I’m sharing have impacted me personally. They want to know whether I have gone through similar experiences or similar situations as theirs. They want to know how I got myself out. They want working solutions not just abstract ideas. They want to know I’m human. By relating my experience and offering solutions intermittently within my story I will be able to capture their attention and win their hearts and probably make a sale.

Yep, that’s a good summary. It may not always possible to share a personal experience, so it’s also okay to share a story about a client or a story you’ve read somewhere—as long as sometimes you do share a personal experience.

This is centainly the best piece of advice one may need to improve writing. Thank you so much. I share Shirley Pordominsky’s suggestion. You should publish books with your terrific ideas. Wish you the best.

I can understand how the woman mentioned in your email left a bit confused. Even in your post here the examples are a bit opaque.

Your examples are clear, but don’t give a direct relation to each other. Even the bereavement examples don’t show a continuance of the story between the two paragraphs — as in, the second paragraph obviously didn’t come immediately after the first. There is more in between that apparently is a transition between the zooming.

I’m probably just a knuckle-headed noob. You said that the in-between transitions should be left out, but reading the bereavement paragraphs one after the other it’s obvious that more of the story has been edited out.

You do need transitions to move from the one to the other so the relations between paragraphs are are clear. But you want to avoid the half-zoomed scenes as much as possible. Most writers don’t zoom in enough, so the writing feels too abstract. It lacks vividness.

The examples are quoted are snippets from the books, that I felt best demonstrated the zoomed in and zoomed out paragraphs, but they’re text in between. It’s tricky to start quoting whole pages of books in short blog posts. I would highly recommend reading the book “The Power of Moments” as it’s one of the best examples for the zoom in zoom out technique I’ve come across. When you read it pay attention to the vivid stories Chip and Dan Heath share. You can also see how they then move on to explain the big picture—the trends, the research and the lessons they suggest.

Also, for people who read your comment and haven’t seen the email … The writer I mentioned was confused after attending a paid writing workshop (which was not by me). My explanation helped her apply the zoom in zoom out technique — and this post expanded from my explanation to her.

Dear Henneke, I visit your blog only now and then, but follow you on Twitter regularly. Coming here (and reading the comments in addition to the article) is like stopping at a warm, friendly coffee house where all is safe and where reigns kindness and good will. Thank you for instilling this ambiance. Enjoy the rest of the Summer up in the lovely North of England.

What a lovely compliment, Doris. Thank you. It’s exactly how I’d like my blog to be, and I appreciate everyone stopping by to ask questions, share their opinions, and provide encouragement. I’m enjoying the good company here!

Hi, Henneke… I read all your posts I receive, but I do not make any comment, or reply on them. Because I still have fear to write something in English….! I fear about sentence structure, choosing right words etc. I assume, my expression will not be much worthy to anyone, even to you. But I have a deep desire to write blogs. By reading your posts, I feel, I am a bit inspired to write. The above term Zoom in and Zoom out is very interesting, very important for me to use in my writing. I’ll try to start writing now and use this term in it… Thank you for inspiring me as mentor through your posts.

“Once upon a time I discovered a talented woman from the Netherlands writing and living in the UK. She riveted my attention with logical and engaging writing ideas. She also made it her mantra to reply quickly and personally to my comments. I thought then and there, I wanted to be a part of her community and to adopt her ideas for my new following. “Zoom out with me for ‘the rest of the story’, I double dare you. Thanks, Henneke, you rock.

Hello Henneke, It is absolutely an engaging and informative blog to learn the essential elements in terms of style and effectiveness to engage the reader’s attention particular to the circumstances. One thing that I want to know from you is: how to write a good “case study?” REGARDS,

I’ve found that there’s a lot to learn from how politicians communicate and connect with people’s emotions—even if they use their communication techniques for purposes we disagree with. But I don’t really enjoy studying their words—I rather read something that pleases me than something that upsets me. 😉

The title of this writing style – Zoom-in/Zoom-out – makes this lesson so much easier to remember. I love your bee graphic. A picture speaks a thousand words, and while your images are inspirational, your words would be just as complete without them!

Hi Henneke – Thank you so much for recommending Lee LeFever’s The Art of Explanation. I bought it, spent the last two days reading it and was not disappointed. Lee’s concepts for creating clear explanations are outstanding. Framing the audience or reader on the “explanation scale” before putting pen to paper fixes the need to think about relevant context before hitting the details. Although it deals more with video instruction than writing a book, I recommend this book to anyone writing a how-to book. Wish I had it years ago.

I also bought the Heath brothers’ Power of Moments and I find it complements LeFever’s book in how to express human experiences meaningfully.

Thanks again Henneke for your insight into writers’ needs – from sunny Sydney. But we now need rain.

Hi Paul – I’m so glad you enjoyed The Art of Explanation. Like you say, it’s written for making videos, but equally applies to writing. There’s so much similarity between making educational videos and writing (and public speaking, too).

I agree – there’s still space for using mini-stories as examples. Even in technical writing, describing specific situations can be useful. As you suggest, minimalism doesn’t need to exclude zooming in, and zooming in doesn’t mean a scene has to be emotional; it can be a specific user case, too.

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I never saw myself as a writer, but in my early forties, I learned how to write and discovered the joy of writing. Now, I’d like to empower you to find your voice, share your ideas and inspire your audience.Learn how I can help you